Sasfin partners with Hello Paisa to reach the unbanked with new service

Algeria, March 9, 2019

South Africa's bank controlling company Sasfin, in collaboration with mobile transfer service Hello Paisa, has launched a new banking initiative that is set to revolutionize the South African banking experience.

Last year, Sasfin announced its ambition to deliver new products and services through either partnering, acquiring or developing tech solutions that offer valuable services to customers.

This is a significant step in Sasfin’s journey to serve new markets through collaborating with this tech-centered and customer-centric focused business. As part of the Hello Group, Hello Paisa was the first company to be authorised as an Independent Money Transfer Operator in South Africa.

It has successfully delivered in the international remittance world and has now recognised the importance of extending banking services to an underserved community. Backed by the banking capabilities of Sasfin, the offering is banking reimagined: a bank designed for everyday individuals who know what matters most to them and their families. Sasfin and Hello Paisa’s distinctive approach is enabled by an open banking and fintech approach and created to deliver exceptional customer service.

Supported by Sasfin’s banking platforms and infrastructure, Hello Paisa’s digital banking offering comprises an adaptable ecosystem of services, including an intuitive mobile app, mobile sim card, bank account and a Visa debit card that operates at any ATM or POS device. Based on their ecosystem, Hello endeavours to bundle its offering to suit South African’s needs. The account can be opened in minutes and is driven by game-changing, smart technology.

Sasfin CEO Michael Sassoon elaborates: “We saw this initiative with Hello Paisa as an ideal way to offer banking to people we believe are underserved. More importantly, we have the opportunity to do so with a partner that genuinely understands the needs of its customers and has built products to serve their needs. We’re impressed by the innovative work that the Hello Group and Hello Paisa have done over the years and we’re proud to be the bank behind Hello Paisa’s latest endeavour.”

Sassoon says that, among other awards received, the Hello Group were the 2015 EY World Entrepreneurs of the year for Southern Africa and Hello Paisa winners of the 2016 SWIFT Innotribe African Startup Challenge is testament to the fact that their achievements have been recognised. Hello Paisa’s entrepreneurial and technological solutions-based culture is something that resounds strongly with Sasfin.

According to Ahmed Cassim, the Managing Director of Hello Paisa, creating personalised solutions to serve the unbanked is a fundamental mandate of this initiative. “We serve hundreds of thousands of customers who are underserved, whom traditional banking players cannot reach. Providing them with access to the banking world will make a huge difference to them in growing their businesses and creating more jobs,” he says.

Rodger Dunn, Head of Transactional Banking at Sasfin, says that the alliance leverages the strengths of both the bank and Hello Paisa: “By connecting to provide a Banking solution for Hello Paisa’s customers, we are able to bring our experience in banking, best-in-breed services and regulatory knowledge to the table. In doing so, we offer an immediate and practical means through which to leverage the strengths of both the Bank and Hello Paisa to achieve a collective goal – financial inclusion.”

Cassim reiterates that the collaboration will similarly allow Hello Paisa to offer more value to their customers: “Over the past fourteen years we have changed lives, through offering our customers a SIM card to connect with their families as well as remittance solutions to send money home. Now, we embark on the next chapter of offering a bank account to keep their money safe and a debit card to transact - anywhere and anytime.”